2 bottles per lot
Details
BORDEAUX THROUGH THE AGES
1920's: The Decade
The two most successful decades ever for red Bordeaux, certainly in the 20th century, were the 1920s and the 1980s, for though each one had slightly fewer great vintages than the "pre-phylloxera" period, the best vintages then were spread over four decades.
The 1920s tend to be associated with "flappers", cocktails and general fun and games - industrial unrest. Wine continued to be the prerogative of the prosperous upper classes. What they drank was strictly limited to the well tried and familiar European classics (America was in the throes of prohibition). They were well served by Bordeaux, not just for the plethora of splendid vintages but, despite some hotting up in the late 1920s, prices, even for the best, were well within reach. There was a cosy relationship between the négociant, his importing agent, the "shipper", and the myriad family wine merchants - somewhat at the expense of the producers.
The decade ended on a high note, winewise, with the renowned - but unalike - twin vintages, 1928 and 1929. They exemplify what is so endlessly fascinating about Bordeaux: that wine from the same vineyard, same frappe varieties, made in the same way, in the same chai, can be so different in style from year to year and, thanks to Bordeaux's maritime climate, the infinitely variable weather conditions during the growing and ripening season.
Michael Broadbent, Vintage Wine
Château Montrose--Vintage 1921
Saint-Estèphe, 2me cru classé
Levels: top shoulder; reconditioned, Nicolas stamped label, one cut capsule
"The 1921 Montrose (tasted four times in 1995 and 1996) is variable. In one tasting, the wine started off with a promising nose of cedar, smoked meats, and a peppery, Rhone-like character, but high acidity and ferocious tannin dominated the meager flavors. Other tastings have revealed a rich, sweet, opulently-textured wine that was alive and still endowed with considerable fruit. The finest bottle, from the Paris wine merchant, Nicolas, was drunk in 1996 at my favorite restaurant in North America, New York City's Daniel. That bottle was marvelous." Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition (1998)
2 bottles per lot
1920's: The Decade
The two most successful decades ever for red Bordeaux, certainly in the 20th century, were the 1920s and the 1980s, for though each one had slightly fewer great vintages than the "pre-phylloxera" period, the best vintages then were spread over four decades.
The 1920s tend to be associated with "flappers", cocktails and general fun and games - industrial unrest. Wine continued to be the prerogative of the prosperous upper classes. What they drank was strictly limited to the well tried and familiar European classics (America was in the throes of prohibition). They were well served by Bordeaux, not just for the plethora of splendid vintages but, despite some hotting up in the late 1920s, prices, even for the best, were well within reach. There was a cosy relationship between the négociant, his importing agent, the "shipper", and the myriad family wine merchants - somewhat at the expense of the producers.
The decade ended on a high note, winewise, with the renowned - but unalike - twin vintages, 1928 and 1929. They exemplify what is so endlessly fascinating about Bordeaux: that wine from the same vineyard, same frappe varieties, made in the same way, in the same chai, can be so different in style from year to year and, thanks to Bordeaux's maritime climate, the infinitely variable weather conditions during the growing and ripening season.
Michael Broadbent, Vintage Wine
Château Montrose--Vintage 1921
Saint-Estèphe, 2me cru classé
Levels: top shoulder; reconditioned, Nicolas stamped label, one cut capsule
"The 1921 Montrose (tasted four times in 1995 and 1996) is variable. In one tasting, the wine started off with a promising nose of cedar, smoked meats, and a peppery, Rhone-like character, but high acidity and ferocious tannin dominated the meager flavors. Other tastings have revealed a rich, sweet, opulently-textured wine that was alive and still endowed with considerable fruit. The finest bottle, from the Paris wine merchant, Nicolas, was drunk in 1996 at my favorite restaurant in North America, New York City's Daniel. That bottle was marvelous." Robert Parker, Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition (1998)
2 bottles per lot